I cover breaking market news and, separately, personal finance for millennials. Got my training on the beat from TODAY show financial editor Jean Chatzky along with my own cornucopia of student loans. They say the best way to learn is by doing, and when it comes to this exercise in student debt, I’m a (reluctant) doer. Penn alum, Philly-area native, millennial-defending millennial.

Kate Spade Soars As Revenue Surges

Stylist Brad Goreski poses for a photo at the Kate Spade New York presentation during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2014 at Center 548 on February 7, 2014 in New York City.
Credit
Cindy Ord/Getty Images

A week after luxury brand and growing handbag powerhouse Michael Kors reported a 43% pop in quarterly revenue, competitor Kate Spade has fired back with a revenue surge of its own: the preppy handbag and accessory maker reported a near-50% surge in second quarter revenue Tuesday morning, and as a result, shares of the company have hit a new 52-week high.

Kate Spade reported $266 million in second quarter revenue, a 48.7% increase over the year-ago period and a figure that easily cleared the $243 million analyst consensus. The company’s net loss for the period was just $14 million, or 11 cents per share, an improvement over the $24 million, 20-cent per-share loss reported this time in 2013. Excluding special items, Kate Spade’s profit came in at 5 cents per share, up from the 8-cent per-share loss reported this time last year and beating the Street consensus, which had forecast a break-even quarter.

“Despite a more promotional retail environment, Kate Spade & Company had another strong quarter, with sales increases coming across both our North American and International segments,” Craig Leavitt, Kate Spade CEO, said in a statement Tuesday morning. ”Net sales for both our North American and International segments grew 55% and 54%, respectively, illustrating that our differentiated product resonates with consumers around the world. We have a clear vision of our customer and continue to design strong collections as we shape our fast-growing, global lifestyle brand.”

The accessory maker split its results into three segments – Kate Spade North America, Kate Spade International and Adelington Design Group –with the first two reporting a more-than 50% increase in net sales. These gains were slightly offset by a $4 million, or 30.6% decline, in the company’s Adelington Design Group, which recorded a $2 million decrease related to its Liz Claiborne New York brand as well as its private label jewelry businesses.

Thanks to a direct-to-consumer comparable sales growth of 30%, Kate Spade is increasing its full year 2014 direct-to-consumer comparable sales growth forecast to a range of 15% to 17%. The company also increased its full-year EBITDA forecast, raising it from a range of $115 million to $125 million to a new range of $120 million to $130 million.

Following the release of the strong earnings results, shares of Kate Spade surged more than 9% in Tuesday’s pre-market trading session, going on to open at a new 52-week high and only climbing from there. Shares are currently trading around $42.36, a near-9% gain. Competitor Michael Kors, meanwhile, opened with a slight gain but is currently trading in negative territory by about 0.5%.

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